


Revelations

by Mlr96



Series: The Two Doctors [5]
Category: Criminal Minds, Doctor Who
Genre: Non-Consensual Drug Use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-05
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2018-10-15 03:14:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10549126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mlr96/pseuds/Mlr96
Summary: Fifth in The Two Doctors series about Dr. Spencer Reid, a genius, an FBI Agent, a profiler and a Time Lord.Story #5, Parts 1-10:When Spencer is kidnapped by Tobias Hankel, the Doctor, Amy and Rory join the BAU in their search for the agent. But will they get to him in time, or will the Doctor lose his oldest friend and really will become the last of his species?Based on Criminal Minds Se2Ep15 "Revelations".





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this episode of the show (Criminal Minds’ Revelations from Season 2) is one of my favorites and least favorites at the same time. This episode is such a good character development for Reid and we get to learn so much more about his past, but it’s also basically 45 minutes of my favorite character going through hell, so...
> 
> This story is divided to 10 parts, all of which are already written. The plan is to upload a part a day for the next ten days and have the entire story up just in time for the new Doctor Who series, but as we all know, life gets in the way too often and with Passover just around the corner I just might not have the time.
> 
> Either way, I hope you’ll like this and the twist I added :)

The Doctor walked away from River’s cell at Stormcage and towards the TARDIS, still more than a bit dazed from the kiss that had just occurred. She seemed not to expect the fact that from his point of view, it was the first time they kissed – not completely surprising as their timelines were out of sync but still interesting as it had meant there were more of these in his future.

He was torn out of his thoughts by a beeping sound, coming to a halt and turning to look at the woman in the cell behind him.

“Okay,” he said slowly. “That’s not mine.”

“No, it’s mine,” River said, heading towards the desk and picking up an odd-looking device. “You told me – will tell me – to watch over Spencer.”

“We only just dropped him off,” the Doctor said. “What could he have possibly gotten himself into? Even he doesn’t have that much of a tendency for trouble.”

“No, that still seems to be a talent reserved only to you,” River commented. “This is past Spencer… about four years younger than the one we just saw. February 2007.”

“What happened?” the Doctor asked, worried.

“Not sure,” River replied. “I don’t get much, only the names of the people involved. Spencer, his team, three names that I don’t recognize and…” she trailed off in fear, unable to say the last name.

“Who?” the Doctor stressed. “River, _who_?”

“Tobias Hankel,” River replied. “Doctor, I know that name.”

“Yeah, me too,” the Doctor muttered. “I have to go – are you coming?”

“I can’t,” River said. “It’s too early, he doesn’t even know me yet.”

“I have to go,” the Doctor repeated, rushing towards the TARDIS.

“You better save him, Doctor!” River warned.

“I will!” the Doctor called back as he ran into his Police Box, flying away almost immediately as he muttered to himself. “February 2007, Spencer Reid and Tobias Hankel. Come on, Old Girl, please…”

“Doctor?” Amy asked, worried at the Time Lord’s strange behavior. “What happened?”

“It’s Spencer,” the Doctor said. “He’s in danger – he’s in great danger.”

“What?” Rory asked, confused. “We just saw Spencer, he’s fine.”

“A different Spencer, Spencer from the past,” the Doctor explained. “He never told me much about Tobias Hankel, he doesn’t like to talk about it.” He paused, an odd look crossing his face. “Always said I’d understand one day – and today seems to be that day!”

“What? Doctor, you’re not making any sense! Who’s Tobias Hankel?”

“He kidnapped Spencer,” the Doctor said, not looking up at his companions. “Nearly killed him. Spencer was, quite literally, digging his own grave when his team found him.”

“But Spencer’s fine, isn’t he?” Amy asked. “If we met future versions of him, then he’s fine.”

“Not necessarily,” the Doctor replied. “Time is in constant flux, especially in points like these. His team getting there five minutes later could mean his death and I’m not losing Spencer – I _refuse_ to lose him.”

“What are you planning to do?” Rory asked. “Kidnap a federal investigation?”

“If I have to,” the Doctor said in all seriousness, landing the TARDIS. “To be honest, though, I hope they’ll just cooperate.”

* * *

Spencer woke up ties to a chair in what looked like a cabin. His head felt like it was being repeatedly hit by a hammer, his hearts were beating at a rate he was certain would make any human machine explode and there was a horrid smell in the air that seemed to disorient his Time Lord senses. He searched his mind for the Doctor’s presence, trying to call out for help, only to find it faded – as if it was out of focus.

He slowly opened his eyes, seeing a man in front of him. At first glance, the man could easily be mistaken as Tobias Hankel – mostly since the looked exactly the same – but on a closer look he could see the difference. Mainly, the confidence this man seemed to radiate.

He blinked a couple of times, another wave of pain rushing through his scull as he remembered what happened at the cornfield. Tobias had Multiple Personality Disorder, and the man in front of him was one of the personalities, taking control.

“They’re gone.”

Spencer forced himself to focus on the man, his voice shaking as he spoke, “Who are they?”

“It’s just me now.”

“Who…” Spencer started fearfully, swallowing hard. “Who are you?”

“I’m Raphael.”

Raphael. He was the one who killed the victims. Tobias was more than likely the one who made the 911 calls. And then there was the third one, the one from the cornfield… the one who wanted to shoot Spencer…

The pain flared through his head again as the smell intensified.

“What’s that smell?” he asked, fighting the urge to retch.

“They’re burning fish hearts and livers,” Raphael replied. “Keeps away the devil.”

Either those weren’t fish hearts and livers, or that wasn’t a normal fire. Anything that can create smoke which interfered with Time Lord Brainwaves couldn’t possibly be from Earth.

And that was a whole different kind of scary than the one he was faced with since he woke up.

“They say you can see inside men’s minds,” Raphael went on.

Well, that _was_ partially true since Time Lords were naturally telepathic, though he didn’t use this specific skill in centuries – and even when he did use it in the past, he never did so unless he absolutely had to.

“It’s not true,” Spencer said, his voice shaking. “I study human behavior –”

“I’m not interested in the arguments of men,” Raphael said. “And you’re not even that. Do you know what this is?” he asked, raising a single bullet in front of Spencer’s face. The profiler didn’t reply so he went on, inserting the bullet to the gun in his hand. “It’s God’s will.”

Spencer shook as the cartridge turned and stopped, Raphael aiming the gun at him. _Russian Roulette._

“You don’t have to do this,” he all but begged, but it was clear his words didn’t mean anything for the man in front of him.

“Now go, sinners, to your God,” Raphael declared, and Spencer closed his eyes.

_Please, not again,_ he thought desperately. _Please, I don’t want to regenerate. Not again. Not so soon…_

He didn’t open his eyes when Raphael pulled the trigger.

**Click.**

Spencer allowed his eyes to open once more, seeing Raphael lowering the gun before turning around and leaving. Quickly, he closed his eyes again, searching through the emptiness in his mind to send a message he knew would never reach its target(?).

_Please… please, Doctor… save me._


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, the second chapter of this story today. Let’s see if we can keep up to the daily updates here :)

“So, what do we do now?” Amy asked, looking around at the corn field the Doctor landed the TARDIS in. “Is this where Spencer is? Do we just… rush in and save him?”

“He’s not here,” the Doctor said. “It’s like… it’s like he’s not anywhere.”

“What do you mean?”

“I should have felt him the moment we landed,” the Doctor said, tapping his temple. “I should have felt his presence in here, even if I couldn’t lock onto his location. But there’s nothing! There’s just… silence.”

“He’s not…” the Doctor started carefully. “He’s not dead, is he?”

“No,” the Doctor replied. “All of the times you met him are still in his future. If he’d have died, he would have been rewritten out of your memories. He’s alive, he’s just… hidden.”

“And that’s bad, right?” Amy clarified.

“It’s very, _very_ bad,” the Doctor muttered. “There are very few things that can make this happen, and no Human in 21 st century Earth should have access to any of them.”

“Okay, so I ask again,” Amy said. “What do we do now? What is this place, anyway?”

“Tobias Hankel’s house,” a new voice replied and the trio turned to see a black haired woman looking at them. “We set up base inside – this is where Spence was taken from.” She smiled tightly. “I’d say it’s good to see you again, Doctor, but considering the circumstances…”

“Emily Prentiss,” the Doctor greeted. “You shouldn’t be able to recognize me. You haven’t seen this body yet – it’s far too early for you. In fact,” he added, stepping closer to her, “You haven’t seen me since you were a kid.”

“I saw you last week,” Emily explained. “You told me to wait at a corn field at this time of the day. When I asked you for a date you said I’d know when it’s time.”

“Good to know,” the Doctor sighed. “I’ll have to remember to do that later. Amy, Rory, meet Emily,” he introduced. “She works with Spencer. “Emily, these are the Ponds. I travel with them.”

“Nice to meet you,” Emily said. “Everyone’s here – even Garcia. Like I said, the team set base inside, you should probably come in. Hankel documented pretty much every moment of his life and we could use your brain in reading through it all.”

“Wait,” Amy said. “We’re just… joining the case? Doctor,” she added, turning to the Time Lord, “We’re going to work with them?”

“Do any of you know where Spencer is?” Prentiss asked, completely ignoring the fact that the question was not directed to her as she looked between the three time travelers. “Didn’t think so. Spencer may be alien but Hankel’s human, and if there’s one thing our team knows best it’s how to catch humans.”

“Wouldn’t your boss mind?” Rory asked.

“Oh, definitely,” Emily smirked. “But that’s not _my_ problem. It’s yours.”

With that, she turned around and started walking towards the house. The Doctor, Amy and Rory exchanged a short glance with each other before following close behind.

“Hotch!” Emily called out as she walked in. “Found these three outside when I went to look at the point Reid was taken from. They say they were sent in to assist us in the case.”

“Sent?” Morgan asked. “By whom?”

“Head of the FBI,” the Doctor said, pulling out his psychic paper. “I’m the Doctor, these are Special Agents Pond and Pond.”

“I told Strauss we didn’t need any help,” Hotch said.

“Well, apparently the people up above disagree,” the Doctor replied, making Amy step forward in an attempt to stop an argument from ensuing.

“Look, we’re not here to supervise over you, if that’s what you’re thinking,” she said, looking between the six agents in the room. “We’re here to help.”

“All of us want to find Spencer as soon as possible,” Rory added. “Fighting each other won’t do any good.”

“We can handle ourselves alone,” JJ said, her voice shaking.

“Nobody said you can’t,” the Doctor told her. “But you have to admit… you’re all too emotionally invested.”

“So are you,” Gideon stated simply, turning all heads in the room to his direction. He looked straight at the Doctor. “It’s clear your friends know negotiation and peacemaking, but they keep looking around nervously. Probably their first time at an active crime scene, which brings the question of how did they end up as Special Agents.”

“Jason,” Hotch said in a warning tone, but the other man ignored him.

“But neither of them are even considering walking away,” he went on. “They’re here because they’re loyal to you – loyal enough to do something they’re uncomfortable with. Your documents are too good to be forged, so I’d say even though you aren’t actual agents you _were_ sent here by a higher authority, though why would the Head of the FBI send three unarmed British civilians to help six qualified Agents on a case is beyond me.”

“Wow,” Rory muttered, causing Gideon to turn to look at him. “Got to admit… you’re good.”

“And these are only the things I noticed since you called him ‘Spencer’.”

-Rory cringed slightly and Amy sighed as Hotch took a step forwards.

“Who are you really?” he asked. “Don’t try to lie because I think we proved by now that we’d know.”

“These are Amy and Rory Pond,” the Doctor replied. “I’m the Doctor.”

“But who are you?” Hotch pressed.

A dark look crossed the Doctor’s eyes. “I’m the man who can get the Heads of the FBI, CIA, MI5, MI6, Interpol, the American President, the British Prime Minister _and_ her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth to call your personal phone and tell you we’re a part of the investigating team, in less than five minutes.”

“You’re bluffing,” Morgan said, and the Doctor turned to look at him angrily.

“Try me.”

For a moment, the BAU team leader and the Time Lord did nothing but stare at each other, the tension in the room so thick you could almost feel it vibrate through the air. Amy reached out to grab Rory’s hand, a move that didn’t go unnoticed by the rest of the people in the room.

After what felt like an eternity, Hotch gave a small nod.

“What do you need?” he asked.

“One of you need to give Amy and Rory a full brief of the case,” he said. “I know you were in town for a couple of days before Spencer was kidnapped, and we need to understand what made the Unsub break out of his pattern and not kill on the spot.”

“Not too much of the bloody details, though,” Amy added. “Like you said, we’re not exactly used to this sort of things.”

“If it’s really important in order to understand, you can tell me,” Rory told them. “I may not have more field experience than Amy, but I’m a nurse. I can handle a bit of gore.”

“What about a lot of gore?” Morgan questioned.

“To save Spencer?” Rory asked, not flinching at the man’s hard tone. “Tell me whatever you need.”

“I’m going to need access to Hankel’s computer,” the Doctor said, turning to look at Garcia. “Spencer talked very highly of you, and I know you’re one of the best in what you do, but a new set of eyes could never hurt.”

“What about the journals?” Prentiss questioned, speaking for the first time since she walked into the room.

The Doctor grimaced. “I was never much of a reader,” he said. “That was always Spencer. And, even if I was, you need the information in those journals to profile Hankel, right? I’m not a profiler.”

“Come with me,” Garcia said, going back into the computer room. “I’ll show you what I got. It’s not a lot,” she added. “Honestly, it looks more like it belongs to a teenager, not a psychopathic murderer.”

The Doctor nodded thoughtfully, taking out his sonic screwdriver and fiddling with it, uncertain whether or not it would be a good idea to use it to scan the computer system. Garcia looked at him for a moment before glancing back towards the door and making sure none of the other team members was listening.

“You’re the Doctor,” she said.

“Yeah, I know,” the Doctor muttered absently. “I said it.”

“No,” Garcia shook her head. “You’re _the_ Doctor. Spencer mentioned you during the whole Christmas mess. It was very briefly, but added to the fact that Spencer has a friend in UNIT – and that he gave me the Buffalo password – it wasn’t too hard to look you up and find more information.”

“What sort of information?” the Doctor asked.

“That you’re alien,” Garcia replied. “That you’re working for UNIT since the 70’s. That there’s a bunch of pictures all titled ‘Doctor’, and that while most people would assume it was a title that was passed with time, or that there were several people with this title… it’s not, is it? It’s all you.”

The Doctor smiled softly. If they weren’t in the middle of trying to save Spencer’s life, and she wasn’t working with him, he might have seriously considered taking her as a companion.

“You’re very clever,” he commented.

“Thanks,” Garcia replied. “Worked very hard to get there. How do you know Spencer?” she added after a small pause. “And… how _well_ do you know him?”

The Doctor thought for a moment, trying to figure out how to answer Garcia’s question without lying to her – but also without revealing information Spencer would rather stayed hidden, at least for now.

“I’ve known him for a long time,” he said. “Every single one of my regenerations – that’s the different faces – knew him very well. He helped me, quite often. Saved my life, more than once.”

“The UNIT file said you’re a time traveler,” Garcia said. “Did you… did you meet Spencer in the future?”

“I did,” the Doctor said. “But it doesn’t mean anything. Time can be rewritten, and just because I met older versions of him doesn’t mean he couldn’t die here.”

Garcia nodded, swallowing hard. “I guess we better save him, then,” she said, and the Doctor smiled again as he started scanning the computer with his sonic screwdriver.

“Working on it.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I had a super busy exhasting day and I almost forgot I wanted to upload this but it’s technically still Friday in my timezone (For the next five minutes, at least) and therefore I am not late :)
> 
> Here we have a lot of Spencer and most of the reason I wanted to write this episode in the first place - Flashbacks!

Spencer wasn’t sure how long had it been since Hankel took him. Whatever it was that interrupted his senses seemed to have a strong effect on his Time Sense, as well, so as far as he knew, it could be anything between hours and days.

He didn’t sleep or eat during that time. Time Lords only needed a small hour of sleep every couple of weeks, and though theoretically they _could_ starve, a Time Lord had to be food deprived for at least two days before he started feeling hungry.

He didn’t know how long he had been in the cabin. He didn’t know how long it had been since Charles arrived, trying to make him confess for his sins and punishing him when he didn’t, leaving his body hurting nearly as bad as his head was aching.

What he did know was that the man who had just walked into the cabin, holding a dead animal of some kind, didn’t look at him like he was an abomination simply by existing or a sinner who needs to confess.

Instead, the man looked worried.

“You need to eat,” he told Spencer, placing the animal on a clear surface by his side.

Spencer hesitated for a moment before speaking. “What's your name?” he asked, deciding that this one, as opposed to the others, won’t be angry at him for the question.

“Tobias,” the man replied.

Tobias. The original Tobias, the real owner of this body. The one who saved him in the cornfield, the one who called the police to tell them Raphael was going to murder his victims. The one who, just now, went outside to hunt to make sure Spencer won’t starve.

“Tobias?” Spencer repeated. “Who was here before?”

He managed to realize by now that the man who was here before was the one who wanted to shoot him at the cornfield. He saw – and felt – that the man won’t listen to reasons, begs or screams of pain, but maybe if he knew who it was he could understand better how to avoid making him angry.

“It was probably my father,” Tobias sighed, his eyes darting to Spencer’s exposed foot, where Charles hit him repeatedly trying to get him to confess. “I'm sorry if he hurt you.”

He hesitated for a moment before rushing towards Spencer, taking off his belt and trying it over the Time Lord’s arm.

“What are you doing?” Spencer asked in panic, trying to struggle against Tobias’ actions. “Don’t. Please don’t.”

He didn’t know if Tobias meant good or bad by injecting him with a drug, but it didn’t matter. Time Lord biology worked very much differently than Human biology, and while the drug possibly could have no effect on him at all, it could also kill him the moment it entered his bloodstream.

“It helps,” Tobias said, pulling out a clear vial and a syringe and preparing it with a dose. “Don't tell my father. He doesn't know they're here.”

“Please,” Spencer begged, tears of frustration and fear starting to from in his eyes. “I don't want it, I don't want it – please…”

“Trust me,” Tobias said calmly as he injected the dose into Spencer’s arm. “I know.”

_“Lundi?” a young looking man looked around the field, searching. “Lundi, are you here?”_

_“Professor!”_

_The Professor laughed as a young girl threw herself into his arms, throwing hers around his neck in a tight hug._

_“You've made it!” she said happily._

_“Of course I made it,” the Professor said, carrying Lundi away from the field and towards a house that stood nearby. “It's your first day at the Academy. What sort of brother would I be if I didn't escort my sister to the shuffle?”_

_“Mother said you won't be able to come,” Lundi said, lowering her eyes. “She said you're too busy.”_

_A wave of anger flashed through the Professor and he had to forcibly stop himself from letting it show. He and his step mother may have had their differences, but he didn't think the hag would say or do something that would hurt Lundi._

_Other than, of course, refusing to refer to the girl by her name since it was neither an Academy Nickname nor a Chosen Title._

_“I'll always have time for you, Lundi,” the Professor promised, kissing the top of his sister's head._

_“What are the two of you doing?” a voice all but shrieked and the Professor rolled his eyes as his step mother walked out of the house. “Put her down this instant, Professor! She's too old for that sort of thing!”_

_Lundi looked up in worry. “Am I too heavy for you to carry?” she asked._

_“No,” the Professor explained softly. “Your mother simply believes that since you are old enough to attend the Academy, you are too old to be carried around and should walk, instead.”_

_“She should,” the woman declared. “No one will carry her around the Academy Halls, will they?”_

_“No, they won't,” the Professor agreed before nodding at his step mother's direction. “Chemist.”_

_“Professor,” she replied tightly. “Made progress in the studies of the Apalapan Extinction yet?”_

_“No,” the Professor replied shortly. “Have you managed to stabilize anti matter in an environment of semi matter?”_

_“Not yet.”_

_“A pleasure, as always,” the Professor said, making Lundi laugh. “Is father present?”_

_“No,” the Chemist replied. “He had Council matters to attend to.”_

_“Father's not here?” Lundi asked sadly._

_“He'll meet us for the shuffle,” the Chemist promised. “Now put her down, Professor. We need to departure in twenty Time Units and she needs to wear the House's clothes. I expect you ready in seventeen Time Units.”_

_“Yes, mother,” Lundi said dutifully, heading to her room and leaving the Professor and the Chemist alone._

_“She'll do well at the Academy,” the Professor mused._

_“I certainly hope so,” the Chemist replied. “At least one of the heirs to this House and Lands needs to do well.”_

_The Professor turned to look at her, giving her a stern glare. “I graduated with a triple A score a year early than the rest of my class,” he said._

_“And then what?” the Chemist questioned. “You should be sitting at the Council with your father as we speak, learning to replace him one day. Not burying your head in books about a species you never met - nor will you ever meet.”_

_“How do you know I won't meet them?”_

_“Oh, stop that nonsense,” the Chemist hushed him. “Not just anybody get a Time Capsule. You need to be of an important family and accomplices.”_

_“And I'm not?” the Professor questioned._

_“You're too important,” the Chemist replied. “Even if your sister takes the family place at the Council, they will never give you access to time-space travel. They'll be too afraid you'll never return.”_

_Even though the Chemist's words held nothing but annoyance in them, the Professor smiled._

_“I'm taking that as a compliment,” he said._

_“You shouldn't,” the Chemist bit out. “I knew nothing good will ever come out of you, and you spent the past century proving me right. Trust me, Professor, your name will not be taught about in the Academy books. Your name will barely reach the Book of Houses - and even that will only be as the first Firstborn not to take the family place at the Council in the past millennium.”_

_“I am touched by your belief in me.”_

_“Your sister, on the other hand...” the Chemist went on as if the Professor said nothing. “She will achieve greatness. I can see it.”_

_“If you're quite done,” the Professor forced himself not to bite out, “I'd like to go light a candle.”_

_“An outdated, useless custom.”_

_The Professor turned to look at her, his eyes filled with hatred and anger. “It's a custom of my Mother's family,” he snapped. “I understand it doesn't mean anything to you, since while you replaced her place in Father's life, you never even bothered to be an active part of mine, but you will_ not _disrespect her.”_

_“She was nothing,” the Chemist sneered. “The only thing she ever did was create you, and even you turned out a failure. Turned out weak!”_

_“I'm far more powerful than you can even begin to comprehend,” the Professor replied. “I may be many things, but I am not weak.”_

“I am not weak,” Spencer repeated, half unconscious in the cabin. “I'm not weak.”

“I don't give a damn whether you're weak or strong,” Charles replied, looking at him with distaste. “Yell all you want, boy. Ain't no one gonna hear you where you are.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Proud of myself for actually remembering to upload... What have I become?

The Doctor sat by Garcia’s side, both of them typing furiously on the keyboard as they tried to make sense of the results they got when the Doctor scanned the computer with his sonic screwdriver.

They took turns taking breaks, Garcia making sure to eat, drink and take naps and the Doctor making sure to keep an eye on Amy and Rory. The two of them felt like there wasn’t much they could do to help, and he wanted to let them know that simply their presence here was helping him more than he could describe.

As the only two people in the house who knew of the Doctor’s real connection to Spencer and how the profiler’s future effected their mutual friend in the past, they were able to make sure the Doctor stayed focused on the mission instead of starting to wonder ‘What if?’

Especially since there was a lot to wonder ‘What if?’ about.

“Are you getting this?” the Doctor asked, reading through the computer’s hardware.

“I am,” Garcia replied, double checking the results. “It seems like…”

“But it couldn’t…” the Doctor muttered.

“But it is.”

“Garcia,” Morgan said, walking into the room, “I need you to –”

“Log into the system as Tobias’ father?” Garcia asked. “Yup, we’re already on it.”

“What?” Morgan asked, confused. “How did you know?”

“Software scan showed two accounts on this computer,” the Doctor replied. “Tobias’ is the first, we’ve been trying to realize who used the second one so we’d know how to get inside it.”

“But now we know,” Garcia said. “What’s his name again?”

“Charles Hankel,” Morgan supplied, and Garcia pressed on two more buttons before the images on the screen changed.

Footage of war, of weapons. People dying and killing, sometimes in the name of God and sometimes just for the sake of killing.

The Doctor didn’t know how Spencer could handle seeing the worst of mankind on a daily basis and still want to save them. He could only guess it had something to do with the group of profilers he worked with.

Garcia and the Doctor dived into work immediately, going through every last dark corner of Charles’ computer, and feeling thoroughly disgusted. They were only a couple of minutes in when the screen flashed black.

“What happened?” Morgan asked.

“I don't know,” Garcia muttered.

“It looks like a signal is coming in,” the Doctor said, careful not to press any button as he waited for a footage to appear.

When it finally had, he felt like he couldn’t breathe.

“Oh, my god,” Garcia breathed out.

“Guys!” Morgan called out towards the rest of the house. “Guys! Get in here!”

The Doctor reached a shaking hand towards the screen, studying his oldest friend. “Professor,” he whispered, keeping his voice down so that no one would hear.

The rest of the team walked into the room, staring at the screens with shock. As Amy and Rory walked in, the redhead grasped her husband’s arm in fear, and they both stayed by the door, ready to leave at any moment if what they saw became too much.

“He's been beaten,” JJ said, her voice shaking. “Can't you track him?”

“Hankel's only streaming this to his home computer,” Garcia said.

Gideon looked at the screen, an angry frown barely hidden on his features. “This is for us,” he said. “He knows we're here.”

“I'm gonna put this guy's head on a stick,” Morgan muttered.

“Stand in line,” Rory said, swallowing hard.

“Why can't you locate him?” Hotch asked.

“He's rerouting to a different IP address every 30 seconds,” Garcia said. “I can't track him. Doctor, do you have an idea?” She glanced towards the Doctor only to find him staring at the screen, his fists clenched in fear and fury. “Doctor?”

“Doctor,” Amy said, letting go of Rory’s hand and moving forward to put a hand on the Doctor’s shoulder. He tensed, but didn’t do anything to shake her hand off. “He’s going to be alright,” she said soothingly. “We’ll find him. But we need your help to do that.”

The Doctor nodded, pulling out his sonic screwdriver and aiming it at the screen. His eyes widened and he let out a shaky breath. “There’s nothing I can do,” he said, giving Amy a look that meant he was going to explain later, when they weren’t in a room full of profilers.

Morgan frowned, opening his mouth to ask something when a voice spoke from somewhere outside the frame.

_“Can you really see inside men's minds?”_ a man asked. _“See these vermin? Choose one to die. I'll let you choose one to live.”_

_“No,”_ Spencer whispered, his voice hoarse.

_“I thought you wanted to be some kind of savior,”_ the man said.

“You're a sadist and a psychotic break,” Spencer replied. “You won't stop killing. Your word's not true.”

The man stepped forward, going slightly into frame – though not enough to see him completely. _“The other heathens are watching,”_ he said, and Spencer’s eyes darted to the camera. _“Choose a sinner to die, and I'll say the name and address of the person to be saved.”_

“I won't choose who gets slaughtered and have you leave their remains behind like a poacher,” Spencer said.

In two long strides, the man – who they by now understood was Hankel, or at least one of his personalities – stepped forwards and grabbed Spencer, pulling him up.

_“Can you really see into my mind, boy?”_ he called out, making Amy jump. The Doctor put his own hand above hers, trying to help her calm down. _“Can you see I'm not a liar?! Choose one to die, and save a life. Otherwise, they're all dead.”_

He let go and Spencer fell back into the chair, breathing heavily. _“All right,”_ he finally said, _“I'll choose who lives.”_

_“They're all the same,”_ Hankel replied.

Spencer looked at something outside the camera’s view, seeming to weight his options before speaking again. _“Far right screen.”_

_“Marilyn David, 4913 Walnut Creek Road.”_

“You got that?” Hotch asked.

“Yeah,” Garcia replied, quickly pulling out Marilyn’s number.

Gideon pulled out his phone, quickly dialing her. “Marilyn David,” he said, “My name is Jason Gideon. I'm with the FBI.”

_“Raphael,”_ Spencer suddenly said, pulling their attention back to the screen just in time to see it turn black again.

Morgan barely waited a moment, storming out of the room and punching the door on his way out.

“I’ll go after him,” Rory volunteered, leaving before anybody could object.

The rest of the group stood in the room silently for several long seconds before the Chief of Police spoke.

“So now what?” he asked the question nobody wanted to think about. “Wait for a 911 call, and hope we get there in time?”

“We need to find him,” the Doctor muttered. “We have to find him. He can’t… Spencer can’t…”

“He won’t.” much to everyone’s surprise, it was Emily who spoke. “He’s a lot stronger than we all usually think he is. He’ll be alright.”

Gideon sighed heavily. “He’s just a kid,” he said.

“No, he’s not,” Amy said. “He’s more capable than that. Honestly, you guys should learn to give him the credit he deserves.”

“Reid –” Hotch started, but this time it was Garcia who cut him off.

“Reid knows how to handle under pressure,” she said. “He’s doing this job when not many other could take what we see every day – you guy should know it. He _will_ get through this. He just needs you guys to have a little more faith in him.”

She turned to look at the Doctor, giving him a meaningful look. His hearts skipped a beat when he realized he may have not called Spencer ‘Professor’ quietly enough so that _no one_ would hear.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another Spencer PoV chapter, another flashback! (Writing those was way too fun)

Spencer watched, helpless, as Raphael killed a couple. He watched as the police crew had started to arrive, feeling like his hearts were breaking.

He should have saved them. Even if he couldn’t, he should have at least tried.

The horrid smell seemed to fill his every being, making it hard to think clearly – or at all. He closed his eyes, trying not to vomit all over himself. He didn’t know how long they were closed, but he only opened them at the sound of a name he didn’t hear in over 500 years.

_“Statum.”_

It was the Doctor. The Doctor was talking to him through the video camera, though it wasn’t the Doctor Spencer was in contact with recently. This one looked and sounded differently, and was significantly younger looking – though he was probably older by age.

Why was the Doctor here? What was he doing at the crime scene? How far into the future was this Doctor from the one Spencer talked to the night before the case, what felt like years ago?

How long was Spencer even in this cabin?

_“Statum, listen to me,”_ the Doctor said. _“I’m coming for you, okay? I’m coming to get you. Just stay strong.”_ He glanced to the side, making sure nobody was listening before adding, _“This wasn’t your fault, okay? Remember that. **This wasn’t your fault any more than Koschie coming to Earth was.** ”_

Spencer’s breath hitched in his throat, his wavering will the only thing fighting the tears that threatened to fall. Reading Gallifreyan at Christmas a couple of months ago was emotionally taxing, but he didn’t hear it since right before his regeneration when he ran away with the Doctor, refusing to fight, other Time Lords and Ladies trying to kill them.

He was pretty sure he heard the language in his drug-induced dream earlier, but he couldn’t recall the details. All he knew was that he was angry at someone, and sad about something. Then, it was gone.

_“Hold on, Statum,”_ the Doctor added. _“We’re on our way.”_

Spencer wasn’t sure how long had passed since that happened. He zoned out, thinking about the message from the Doctor, about his Academy Nickname. He pondered over the fact that he might never see his oldest friend again.

Later, he would reflect over the fact that the knowledge that his death would make the Doctor the last of their species was what kept him fighting long after his mental strength was lost.

When he zoned back in, Tobias was tying a belt around his arm.

“Tobias,” he whispered.

“Sorry,” Tobias whispered back, tightening the belt before preparing a syringe. “I had to leave for a while.”

“You can leave again,” Spencer offered hesitantly, “And you can take me with you.”

“My father would be angry.”

Spencer swallowed hard. He knew by now that it was practically impossible to convince Tobias to go against his father’s will, but he had to try. “Not if he can't find us,” he said, knowing full well that Charles will always find Tobias – they shared a body, after all.

“He always finds me.”

“If you tell me where we are, my friends will come, and they'll save us,” Spencer tried a different tactic, already starting to lose hope himself.

“We can't be saved,” Tobias stated simply, nearing the needle to Spencer’s arm.

“We can,” Spencer said desperately. “We can. I promise. If you tell me where we are, I'll save us both.”

“Listen to me,” Tobias said calmly. “It's not worth fighting.” Spencer’s eyes darted between the syringe and the other man, something Tobias didn’t miss. “Tell me it doesn't make it better.”

Spencer wanted to say it didn’t make it better. He wanted to say he didn’t want it, he wanted to try and fight it, to run away.

Instead, he sat silently as the syringe pierced his skin.

_“You can't do this,” the Professor said. “You can't! I won't do it.”_

_“Yes, you will,” Kagmar replied. “The Chemist is right, this should have been done decades ago.”_

_“You can't do it,” the Professor repeated. “I refuse. I won't cooperate.”_

_“Yes, you will,” the Chemist told him. “You are the heir to this House, and as such, you need to make a firstborn to inherit you, when the time comes.”_

_“Just because the two of you married by contract doesn't make it the right way to do things,” the Professor told her. “Father, please. I don't want this. If... When I marry,” he corrected, “I want it to be with someone I bear feelings to. Like yourself and Mother.”_

_“Your Mother were and I were a once in a millennium anomaly,” Kagmar replied. “You know that. Nearly all of your year at the Academy married by contracts.”_

_“But not all of them,” the Professor replied. “Some of them didn't - even heirs to well known families.”_

_“Which is exactly why your contract will be with one of them,” Kagmar said. “With someone you know, and care about -”_

_“Care about?” the Professor asked in disbelief. “Father, at the best of times we barely manage not to kill each other.”_

_“Nevertheless, she is someone you know.”_

_“I don't want this,” the Professor repeated. “Father, please...”_

_“We will meet with her parents tomorrow,” the Chemist said with an air of finality. “We will discuss the marriage contract with them. You will marry her. And there's nothing you can do about it.”_

_The Professor looked between her and his Father in disbelief before turning to the door. “Watch me,” he stated._

_“Professor!” Kagmar called out after him. “Where are you going?”_

_“Away,” the Professor replied. “As far away from here as I can. I will not marry her. I refuse.”_

_“Professor!” the Chemist all but shrieked. “Return here! Return here this instant!”_

_“You are not my mother,” he hissed. “You never tried to be and you never will be. You don't get to tell me what to do. I owe you nothing.”_

_“Kagmar!” the Chemist called out. “Kagmar, tell him to come back! Kagmar!”_

_But the Professor was already out the door, not even hearing his Father's refusal. He ran across the golden fields, ran and ran until he reached a House he knew well from his younger days. He opened the door without bothering to knock and ran up the stairs to his friend's room._

_“You said you're planning to leave,” he said as he walked in. “Have you managed to acquire a TARDIS?”_

_“Hello to you, too, how nice it is to meet you, Professor -”_

_“I don't have time for this, Master,” the Professor said. “Do you have a TARDIS? Did you get one?”_

_“Yes,” the Master replied. “But I was not planning to leave for another five days.”_

_“Can you leave now?” the Professor asked. “Please, Master, I can't stay here. I have to get out.”_

_“Why?” the Master asked. “What happened?”_

_“My Father and the hag have decided it's time for me to marry.”_

_“Marry who?” the Master asked and the Professor grimaced._

_“Trust me, you don't want to know,” he replied shortly. “Could you do it? Could you leave now?”_

_“Now?” the Master questioned. “No.” The Professor's face fell in despair before the master went on. “Give me thirty Time Units and I'll be ready.”_

_“Thank you,” the Professor breathed out. “Oh, thank you.”_

_“Don't mention it,” the Master said. “Anything for you.”_


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another day, another update... Part 6/10, here we go!
> 
> And a Happy Passover to anybody celebrating it!

The Doctor sat on a chair in Hankel’s kitchen, his head cradled in his hands. It had been over 36 hours since Spencer was taken and about twelve hours since the TARDIS landed. They weren’t any closer to finding Spencer than they were before, and two more people were dead.

He knew that with every minute that had passed, their chances of finding Spencer alive were rapidly decreasing, and he couldn’t help but hope that Spencer, the man who knew every statistic fact by heart, would just this once prove it to be wrong.

“Coffee?”

He looked up to see Gideon standing next to him, two paper cup in his hands.

He knew what was in the man’s future. He knew about everything he will go through, and about how he would leave one day. The Doctor helped Spencer deal with his mentor’s abrupt departure – the younger Time Lord was so distressed he couldn’t even bring himself to read the letter Gideon left for him.

Spencer, in turn, helped the Doctor deal with losing Rose and with Martha’s departure. When the time arrived, he helped him understand that what happened to Donna wasn’t his fault.

At the end of the day, both Spencer and the Doctor were very much alike. They didn’t like endings, and were never quite sure what to do when facing one.

If they wouldn’t save Spencer on time, none of these things would happen. Even ignoring how he would have to cope on his own when losing his companions, the Doctor wasn’t sure he’ll be able to move on if he lost his oldest friend.

But that was neither here nor there, and it certainly wasn’t what the Doctor needed to focus on at the moment. Silently, he nodded and grabbed the cup, ignoring the fact that, in less than a year’s time, the man in front of him would hurt Spencer beyond what any of the humans in the house could begin to imagine.

“I heard what you told Reid,” Gideon said after a couple of moments of silence. “Some of it, at least.” He hesitated for less than a moment before adding, “I heard you called him ‘Statum’.”

The Doctor sighed. He had hoped that Gideon and Hotch, who were standing not far behind him when he sat in front of the camera, didn’t hear what he told Spencer. If he’d known they had, he wouldn’t have used that nickname from centuries ago.

“I know you want an explanation,” he said. “But I’m afraid I can’t give you one.”

“If it’s something about Reid –”

“It is,” the Doctor cut him off. “And I know that you think this information will be helpful for the case, but it won’t be. I won’t lie to you, there are a lot of things you don’t know about Spencer, but it’s up to him when – and if – to tell you. It’s _his_ decision,” he repeated. “Not mine. Not yours.”

“Then explain what you can,” Gideon said. “Look, I know your type. When all of this is over and Spencer is back, you’ll just gallivant away. We’re the ones who’ll have to help him move on once you go away.”

The Doctor stood up, taking a step closer to the human in front of him. “Don’t dare to assume you know anything about me, about Spencer, or about our friendship. This is infinitely more complicated than you can even begin to comprehend.”

“So you’re a genius, like Reid,” Gideon concluded, only making the Doctor’s anger to flare even more than before.

“No,” he said. “You will _not_ try to profile me. You won’t do it because you can’t do it without profiling Spencer – and, yes, I know about your no-profiling rule.”

“I, unlike you, know to put the line between professional and personal.”

“Really? Which one is this?” The Doctor stared the profiler down, noting with respect and slight annoyance that he didn’t back down. “Here’s what I’ll tell you. I’ve known Spencer for since we were both very young. We had nicknames. His was Statum. Anything beyond that, you’ll have to ask him.”

“How do you know him?” Gideon inquired. “How did you meet?”

“I told you,” the Doctor said through gritted teeth. “You want to know anything else, you’ll have to ask him!”

“Who are you to him?” Gideon went on, ignoring him. “Who is he to you? Did you have more friends with nicknames like that? What was yours? What was the meaning of his?”

“If you’re seriously keep asking after what I told you, you’re either an idiot or a bad friend,” the Doctor sneered. “This isn’t my story to tell – though, frankly, I wouldn’t tell you even if it was. This is Spencer’s, and this is about Spencer. Respect that. Respect his privacy. Or, if you don’t,” he added when Gideon opened his mouth to retort, “At least pretend you do.”

He turned around, walking out of the room to find Hotch sanding by the door, having obviously heard every word.

“What was that all about?” the profiler asked.

“I thought you had a code against profiling your coworkers,” the Doctor said as reply.

“You’re not our coworker,” Hotch noted.

“But Spencer is. He is not the Unsub here, he’s the victim, and while I understand you’re upset he didn’t tell you about Amy, Rory or me, that gives you no right to dig into his life.”

“Doctor!” Rory’s voice suddenly called out in distress. “Doctor, come here, now!”

The Doctor didn’t hesitate, running back into the computer’s room just in time to see Hankel moving to stand right in front of Spencer, partially blocking his view from the camera’s sight.

_“This ends now,”_ Hankel’s voice said. _“Confess your sins.”_ Spencer didn’t say anything, making Hankel punch him right in the jaw. _“Confess!”_

_“I haven't done anything,”_ Spencer cried, and Hankel punched him again. _“Tobias, help me.”_

_“He can't help you,”_ Hankel said. _“He's weak.”_

_“Tobias,”_ Spencer let out just before another blow arrived.

As Hankel moved to step next to Spencer, holding him by the hair to keep his head up, the Doctor felt his hearts clench. Next to him he could hear Garcia’s shaky intakes of breath as she tried to hold back tears and feel stress rolling off Gideon in waves. Rory seemed to want to run away, stop seeing this, but his eyes were fixed to the screen as he was unable to look away.

_“Confess your sins,”_ Hankel said, but Spencer didn’t reply.

When Hankel pushed Spencer back with one swift movement, the Doctor jumped forwards.

“No!” he called out, as if his words could make a difference – as if Hankel could hear them.

“Oh, my god,” he heard Garcia say next to him. “He's killing him.”

“Doctor?” Rory asked carefully. “Doctor, shouldn’t he…? He… how can he…?”

The Doctor didn’t say anything, staring at the screen and waiting for the signature golden energy of regeneration. Even long after Spencer stopped convulsing on the floor, and Hankel said something beyond his understanding, he kept waiting, staring at the screen unblinking.

He felt, rather than saw, Gideon leave the room. He was vaguely aware of Rory running out, probably to find Amy. He knew Garcia was still there by his side, wanting to ask something but too scared to bring it to words.

He kept waiting for a golden light that never came.


	7. Chapter 7

One of the most unique traits of Time Lords is the regeneration cycle. Starting out as an anomaly caused by prolonged exposure to the Time Vortex, it took some time before evolution brought it to be the basic survival instinct most knew it as in present times. And, as other basic survival instincts, regeneration isn’t a conscious decision.

At least, not completely.

There were only three ways to stop regeneration from ensuing – or, at least, that was what the teachers at the Academy said when they taught the subject.

The first was to consciously stop the regeneration energy from releasing. Those cases were few and far in-between, partly because a Time Lord had to possess great control and be conscious in order to keep the energy at bay, but mostly because for most, the mere suggestion was unimaginable. For someone to consciously refuse to regenerate was equivalent to committing suicide.

The second way was if the Time Lord in question induced a second lethal hit while the energy was building up. This was, too, almost unheard of – until the War when the Daleks used this to their advantage in every twist and turn.

The third one was slightly more common than the two that preceded it, but not by much. If a Time Lord was beyond saving – whether by one of the few diseases Time Lords weren’t immune to or by a certain kind of poison – their body won’t set the regeneration into motion. It was said that in those cases, their energy would find its way back to the Vortex, existing there until the end of time and all things.

The third one was also the only one Spencer witnessed personally. It was back when he was just a Time Tot, a few months before he was taken for initiation. He wasn’t the Professor yet – technically, he wasn’t even Statum yet.

He sat at his mother’s bedside, his biological mother. Kagmar left a long time ago, unable to keep watching her in that state, but he stayed, occasionally lighting a candle to make sure there were always four of them around her bed.

He sat there, alone, not even eight years old as his mother’s breaths became slower and fewer. He and Kagmar didn’t talk about it later, so he never shared with anyone what he saw when the last breath left her mouth and her hearts stopped. Nobody but him knew about the golden trail of energy that left her mouth and divided into four, each of the parts attracting into one of the candles.

More than once, in the centuries that followed, he wondered what it felt like – if it hurt, if it brought relief. Later on, he wondered if it felt similar to what regeneration felt like.

When Charles pushed his chair down, his head hit the ground. Immediately, he felt his vision blurring and darkening, he felt himself convulsing, struggling for air, dying. There was no familiar buildup of regeneration energy inside him and he thought maybe now, he’d know what his mother felt in her last moments.

What he didn’t think when he closed his eyes for what he believed to be the last time was that there would be a bright light, voices whispering soothingly, and then pain as he was brutally dragged back to life.

Everything hurt when he came back to. Both of his hearts stopped when he died – if it can even be called that – but only one was functioning right now. Tobias was next to him, clearly being the one who performed the CPR to bring him back.

If this was what it felt to have only one functioning heart, he didn’t fully appreciate his second one until this very moment.

He opened his eyes, still lying on the floor, and caught what he thought was a tombstone at the corner of his eye. Before he could think about it further, the man next to him stood up and observed him from above.

“You came back to life.”

This was clearly not Tobias anymore. Spencer may have not known how long it had been since he was taken, but it was long enough for him to know the difference between the three personalities who shared Tobias’ body.

“Raphael,” he breathed out.

“There can be only one of two reasons,” Raphael went on, ignoring him.

“I was given CPR,” Spencer tried to explain, even though he knew the ‘Angel’ would ignore him completely.

“There are no accidents,” Raphael declared, and Spencer closed his eyes again as the thick scent in the air messed with his brain once again.

With his brainwaves interfered, his body exhausted at the abuse it had been going through and one heart down, Spencer was amazed that he was even able to focus on what Raphael was saying. Desperately, he tried to send another message to the Doctor, to tell him about what he saw, but even though he wasn’t as blocked as before he still wasn’t able to get through.

“How many members are on your team?” Raphael questioned. “The 7 angels who had the 7 trumpets prepared themselves to sound. The first sounding followed hail and they were thrown to earth.”

Raphael was under the belief that this was Revelations. In his mind, he was killing the sinners, the wrongdoers… there were two people – if one might call them that – that were the biggest sinners in the universe, that did more wrong than a single human mind could even begin to conceive.

And, as much as he would have happily accepted death, something told Spencer it was a bad idea to let Raphael know he was one of those two.

Raphael pulled his chair back up, and Spencer closed his eyes. The smell was stronger up here, thicker somehow. He wanted to vomit, but he was too tired to move his head, let alone retch.

“Tell me who you serve,” Raphael demanded.

_I serve no one,_ Spencer thought. _No one but myself._

He didn’t serve his father when Kagmar commanded him to do one thing or another. He didn’t serve the teachers at the Academy, often getting into trouble for disobeying. He didn’t serve the Time Lords, going as far as to run away when the War had begun, an action which led him to where he was now.

Even when his human parents took him to church on Sundays, he never served God. If there was a God, and he caused Deanna to go through everything she went through, he didn’t want to believe in him. The only thing he could honestly say he believed in was the power of the candles his mother taught him about, and even that was partly because he had seen it firsthand.

He believed in very few things. He had faith in a small number of people, and trusted not many more.

But he served no one. No man, no God, no species and no other power.

However, if he told this to Raphael, he’ll be dead on the spot.

“I serve you,” he lied, hoping to, at the very least, live just a little longer.

He didn’t think he would make it for much longer. His body was barely functioning as it was and his second heart seemed to be slowly failing. He was about to die again, very soon. And this time, he might not be brought back.

Raphael looked at him for a moment before speaking again. In the seconds that passed, a million different scripts passed through Spencer’s mind in regards to what he could say, and how should Spencer react.

None of them prepared him for the words that left his mouth.

“Then choose one to die.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was emotionally exhausting.

_“Then choose one to die.”_

The Doctor didn’t think he would be too far off if he said that the room was so quiet one could hear a pin dropping to the ground after Hankel – Raphael, Spencer called him – spoke.

_“What?”_ Spencer asked, clearly as shocked and scared as the rest of them.

_“Your team members,”_ Raphael said. _“Choose one to die.”_

_“Kill me.”_

The Doctor felt his hearts breaking as Spencer spoke. He always made sure to distinguish between the Professor and Spencer, knowing that much like Statum they were very different versions of his oldest friend, but the three were never as similar as they were now.

_“You said you weren't one of them,”_ Raphael accused.

_“I lied,”_ Spencer said simply, and the Doctor knew they both understood he was closer and closer to sealing his fate with every word that came out of his mouth.

Amy fell to the floor, her legs unable to hold her up any longer, and Rory kneeled by her side, hugging her tightly. They both closed their eyes, but they couldn’t stop themselves from hearing what was being said.

JJ pressed her hands to her mouth, trying to hold back tears, while Garcia gave up altogether and let the salty water make trails on her face. Prentiss looked like she was going to be sick. Hotch was struggling to keep himself together. Morgan looked more heartbroken than anything else, his feelings on the matter clearly very similar to the Doctor’s – the Time Lord knew Derek was very close to Spencer, and that they would only grow closer in the years to come.

Only Gideon seemed almost indifference – that was, if the Doctor couldn’t physically feel every emotion that was rolling off him in waves.

_“Your team has six other members,”_ Raphael said. _“Tell me who dies.”_

_“No.”_

Wordlessly, Raphael pulled a gun out of his pocket. He turned the cartridge, and it was clear to everyone in the room what he was doing as he aimed it right between Spencer’s eyes.

Russian Roulette.

_“Choose,”_ Raphael ordered, _“And prove you'll do God's will.”_

_“No.”_

Everybody held their breaths as Raphael pulled the trigger.

**_Click._ **

_“Choose,”_ Raphael repeated.

_“I won't do it.”_

**_Click._ **

_“Life is a choice.”_

_“No.”_

**_Click._ **

_“Choose.”_

The Doctor closed his eyes. Spencer’s odds were so small right now, and for some reason his regeneration cycle wasn’t properly functioning. If the next pull of trigger will release a bullet, Spencer won’t make it. He’d be dead, for good.

This couldn’t be happening. He couldn’t lose Spencer, not when he was already certain he lost him once today.

_“I…”_ Spencer started, and the Doctor was certain this was it, this was when his oldest friend was going to die. _“I choose the Doctor.”_

Every person in the room turned their heads to look at the Doctor, studying his response. Spencer’s team members, even Amy and Rory were curious as to how the Time Lord will take the fact that his oldest friend had just put him up as sacrifice.

The Doctor didn’t acknowledge their looks, instead opening his eyes and looking at the screen.

_“What?”_ Raphael asked in disbelief.

_“You want a sinner?”_ Spencer asked. _“You won’t find a bigger one. He’s a killer and a thief, an adulterer. If I start telling you of all the sins he committed, we’ll be here until tomorrow. But that’s not why I’m telling you to kill him. That’s not my reason,”_ he added darkly.

_“What is?”_ Raphael questioned.

_“I’d like to see you try.”_

The Doctor felt like a ton of bricks were taken off his shoulders, and if Spencer wasn’t still stuck Rassilion-knows-where with this madman, he might have let himself relax.

_“I want to see you go after him,”_ Spencer went on. _“I want to see you try, because I know you won’t succeed. I was never much of a believer, and there are little thing I have faith in, but I trust him.”_

_“Careful what you speak, boy,”_ Raphael warned. _“Your words are blasphemy!”_

_“Then so be it,”_ Spencer said. _“Doesn’t change the fact that I do. I trust him. Always have, always will. I trust him because that’s what Lundi would have done,”_ he added, and the Doctor felt his heart clench at the sound of a name he hadn’t thought about in centuries. _“And even if you kill me, I will die in peace,”_ Spencer said, looking right at the camera – right at the Doctor. _“I will die in peace knowing I will be buried by her side.”_

The Doctor didn’t wait a moment, all but running out of the room. He needed to clear his mind, he needed to think because if he wasn’t wrong – and he was quite certain he wasn’t wrong – Spencer had just solved his own kidnapping case.

“Doctor!” Amy called out, running after him. “Doctor, wait!”

_“You want a sinner? You won’t find a bigger one.”_

_“I want to see you try, because I know you won’t succeed.”_

_“I trust him because that’s what Lundi would have done.”_

_“I will die in peace knowing I will be buried by her side.”_

“Doctor,” Amy breathed out, finally reaching him. “Don’t – he said your name because he believes Hankel can’t kill you.”

“No,” the Doctor said. “He said my name for a whole different reason. Oh, he is brilliant!”

“Doctor?” Hotch asked, walking into the room with the rest of the team in tow. “What is it?”

“What was wrong about what Spencer said?” the Doctor asked, looking between them. “Come on, he’s your friend – you know it. I know you do. It’s even written in his files. No? Nobody? Come on,” he added, turning to Prentiss. “You know this. I know you do. I know he told you.”

“He…” Prentiss started carefully, going over what Spencer said in her head before her eyes widened. “Oh, my God.”

“What?” Morgan asked. “Emily, what is it?”

“’I will be buried by her side’,” she quoted. “That makes no sense.” She turned to look at Gideon and Hotch. “You read his files, you know better than everyone…”

“Reid wants to be cremated post-mortem,” Gideon said in understanding.

“It’s more than that,” the Doctor said. “He mentioned Lundi, and how he’d be buried next to her.”

“So?” JJ said.

“So,” the Doctor explained, “Lundi was never buried. There was…” he swallowed before resuming. “There wasn’t enough left of her to bury.”

She burned in fire and smoke when he destroyed Gallifrey. She perished along with the rest of their people, at the end of the biggest War to have ever rage the universe. The Doctor shook his head slightly, throwing the thought away.

“Why would he mention it twice?” he questioned. “Lundi was never buried, and he never wants to be buried, so why would he mention burial twice?”

“You think he’s in a cemetery?” Hotch asked in understanding.

“I think it’s worth a shot to check,” the Doctor said. “Garcia, how fast can you get us the location of every graveyard in the radius we marked?”

“Already on it,” Garcia said, and the group couldn’t help but share a small, nervous smile.

They just might be one step closer to finding Spencer.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One to last chapter... I'm so excited!

Spencer was barely aware that there was a shift between the personalities until one of them kneeled by his side, preparing a syringe.

“Tobias, is that you?” he asked, barely able to turn and look at him. “Thank you,” he said. “You saved my life.”

“I'm sorry,” Tobias replied, avoiding Spencer’s eyes.

“Why?”

“He'll win in the end.”

Spencer swallowed hard, looking at Tobias for a long moment before he dared to speak again.

“Tobias, I need to know something,” he started carefully. “It's important. Are we in a cemetery?”

“Yeah,” Tobias said, and Spencer felt like he just might pass out from joy right then and there. “I used to come here to get high.”

“I was right,” Spencer muttered, almost unaware that he was speaking aloud.

“No one bothers you here,” Tobias went on, having not heard what Spencer said. “I never told anyone about it.”

Spencer let out a small smile before the syringe was inserted into his vein again.

_“Master.”_

_The Time Lord in question looked up at his friend, an odd look crossing his face._

_“Professor,” he greeted. “What brings you here?”_

_“You know what brings me here,” the Professor replied. “Stop it. Stop this madness. Please, you don't have to do it.”_

_“I know I don't have to,” the Master said. “I want to.”_

_“Why?”_

_“Why?” the Master repeated. “Why would I want to gain control over the universe?”_

_“Yes,” the Professor said. “Please, Master... you don't need this. We could just get into your TARDIS, fly away... See the universe. Just the two of us.”_

_“Why should I settle for seeing planets when I can reign them?”_

_“Because I'm asking you,” the Professor all but begged. “Because I am properly asking you - just stop. Just think. We could have what we always wanted. You and me, together, against the rest of the world.”_

_“But we are not together against the rest of the world, are we?” the Master questioned. “You joined the Doctor and his pack of Humans. You spend the past months fighting me.”_

_“I don't want to fight you,” the Professor told him. “I don't ever want to fight you.”_

_“But you have,” the Master said simply. “You have made your choice. And now, I make mine.”_

_“Master...” the Professor muttered. “_ Koschie _... Please...”_

_The Master took a step closer. “Say that again.”_

_“Koschie,” the Professor breathed out. “Koschie, please...”_

_“I always liked to hear you beg,” the Master whispered in his ear. “You know that, don't you?”_

_“Yes,” the Professor muttered. “Koschie, please...”_

_“But,” the Master added, “You also know that begging doesn't always work. Take him out,” he ordered the guards, who grabbed the Professor and all but threw him out the room._

_“Koschie!” the Professor called out._

_“You betrayed me!” the Master told him. “You promised me we'll stay together but as soon as we landed you ran away with the Doctor!”_

_“I didn't run away with him!” the Professor replied. “I'm sorry, but I couldn't let you do what you're trying to do.”_

_“You lied to me!”_

_“I'm sorry!” the Professor said as he was dragged out. “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.”_

“I'm so sorry,” Spencer cried. “I'm so sorry.”

“What are you sorry for, boy?” Charles asked.

“I betrayed him,” Spencer replied. “He trusted me and I betrayed him.”

“Who?”

“Koschie,” Spencer muttered. “I lied to him... I loved him... and he loved me. And I used that against him.”

Pure rage crossed Charles' eyes as he glared at Spencer.

“Is that a confession?” he asked.

“I confess,” Spencer replied, too tired to fight anymore.

“You know your bible,” Charles said. “Leviticus 20:13.”

Spencer took a deep breath before reciting, “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.”

“Are you guilty?” Charles asked.

“Yes,” Spencer breathed. “I am guilty.”

Slowly, Charles neared him and took off the handcuffs Spencer’s hands were bound in since he was taken. He stood up, and Spencer couldn’t say he had the strength to do anything but look up at him as the man spoke.

“Grab a shovel.”

* * *

The Doctor all but forced Amy and Rory to stay behind with Garcia at the house and wait for news, telling them it would be safest that way as well as asking them to delete certain pieces of information from the computer.

“It’s too soon for Spencer to recognize that name,” he said. “I’ll tell him eventually, but for now… it’s best he doesn’t know.”

“Doctor…” Rory said carefully. “I recognize that name.”

“Me, too,” Amy said. “Isn’t that…?”

“Yes, it is,” the Doctor said, heading out. “But if Spencer knew it, too many people would die.”

And so he left them with the quite difficult mission of distracting Garcia long enough to insert the flash drive he gave them into the computer while he joined the rescue. He was less than half a step behind the BAU team, only stepping back because he was unarmed.

The closer they got to the cabin at the center of the graveyard, the harder it was for him to think properly. He didn’t argue when Hotch signaled him to pause when they reached the door, allowing the team to do what they did best.

“Go!” Gideon called out, and it was all Morgan needed to kick the door down and run in, gun in the air.

“FBI!” he called out, and the Doctor waited until he heard the all-clear before stepping inside, only to step back out almost immediately.

Karovian smoke, one of the only things that had the ability to interfere with Gallifreyan minds and block access to the natural psychic link all Time Lords shared. The Doctor didn’t see this sort of technology since the War, when the Dalek Emperor took control over the Cruciform. It was right in the last days of the War, and it was then that the Doctor realized there would be no choice but to kill all sides, as it was the only way to make the fighting stop.

Just a few seconds in the room with the smoke and the Doctor knew his psychic link won’t work properly for at least half an hour. To think Spencer was stuck in that room for nearly three days… it would take days before he would be able to connect to the Doctor telepathically and weeks, at best, for his mind to be his again.

“Let's spread out,” Hotch said, walking out of the cabin. “They have to be on foot. Let's go!”

The Doctor started walking deeper into the forest around them, uncaring that he was alone and weaponless. His sonic screwdriver was on, scanning for non-human life forms when he heard a gunshot.

He didn’t waste a moment in running towards the sound, thinking that if Hankel killed Spencer he would tear the man from limb to limb.

Instead, he saw Spencer on the ground, very much alive, as Hankel breathed his last.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gah, I can't believe I forgot to upload yesterday... Had a super-busy day and only remembered I had to upload when I was already half asleep...
> 
> Anyway, this is the last part of the story, it's mostly wrapping up things from last chapters, but also a bit of a sneak peak towards the next couple of stories...
> 
> Tell me what you think!

The Doctor didn’t say anything, but it seemed like Spencer didn’t need him to talk in order to know he was already there. He looked up, and the Doctor nearly cringed. The only time he saw him looking worse was during…

But that was long into the future for this Spencer, even if the string of events which led to it had already started to unfold.

“Doctor?” Spencer croaked out in disbelief.

“Spencer,” the Doctor breathed out, feeling true relief for the first time since he put River in her cell what felt like years ago.

“Doctor…”

The Doctor fell to his knees, knowing that standing was a bit beyond what Spencer was capable of at the moment, and wrapped him in a tight hug. Spencer reached out shaking hands, grasping the back of the Doctor’s jacket and pulling him closer, the two Time Lords holding on to each other like a lifeline.

It was like that that the BAU team finally found them about a minute later, Hotch quickly helping the Doctor to pull Reid to his feet.

“Let’s get you out of here,” Gideon said, carefully reaching out for Spencer’s hand. “You need to see a doctor.”

“No…” Spencer muttered. “Doctor…”

Morgan swallowed hard, forcing a small smile on his face. “I know you hate hospitals, pretty boy,” he said. “But you need to see a doctor.”

“Doctor…”

“He means I’m his Doctor,” the Doctor cut in. “It’s more than just a name, you know.”

“You’ve got a medical license?” Prentiss questioned.

“I have a medical license to take care of Spencer,” the Doctor said, giving her a look that said a lot more than his words did. “I can cut his recovery time in half with the equipment I have.”

“Koschie…” Spencer muttered, barely coherent, “And Lundi…”

The Doctor swallowed hard, overly aware that everyone were listening. “Let’s get you out of here,” he said. “I’ll take care of you, Spence.”

* * *

Three Earth days had passed in the TARDIS before Spencer woke up – not that he knew it at the time. All he was aware of was that he wasn’t as sore as before, though he was still covered in enough bandages to wrap a mummy, that he was thirsty and hungry, and that he needed a fix.

And soon.

He groaned as he forced his eyes open to see the Doctor sitting at his bedside, his expression grim. When he saw Spencer woke up, his expression darkened even more, and Spencer got waves of worry and anger rushing through the natural psychic link that kept the two of them connected.

Rassilion, how he had missed not being alone in his brain.

“Good morning,” the Doctor said as Spencer forced himself up to a sitting position. “You… you slept for quite some time.”

“How long?” Spencer croaked out.

“Three days,” the Doctor replied. “Well, _technically_ you only slept for 64 hours, but…”

“That’s a long time,” Spencer frowned. “Usually I heal faster than that. Then again, I don’t believe I was ever this bad without regenerating.”

“You also weren’t ever under the influence of a powerful pain medication that is only slightly better than morphine when you were this bad.”

Spencer winced slightly at the Doctor’s sharp tone. _Well,_ he mused, _that seemed to clarify quite clearly how much the Doctor knows. Unless…_

Unless he also knew about the rest. Unless he knew that Tobias Hankel died with two vials of the drug on his personal, but that the FBI won’t find them.

Judging by the fact that Spencer was currently not wearing his clothes, but the Med-Bay cloak that always connected in his brain to healing much better than Human hospitals ever did, the Doctor knew everything that there was to know.

And Spencer needed out.

“Well,” he started carefully, “If it’s all the same to you, I think I’d finish my recovery back home. About two months away from office should be enough for Hotch to clear me back into the field – I think I’ll tell them I spent the first with you, so if you could just drop me a month after we left –”

“No.”

Spencer swallowed. “Excuse me?” he asked.

“I’m not letting you out of my sight,” the Doctor replied. “Not until I know for certain that all remains of the drug are out of your body.”

“You don’t get to decide what I do!”

“As your doctor –”

“You’re not an actual doctor, _Theta_!” Spencer snarled. “And you don’t have a say over what I do, or don’t do!”

“This drug is highly dangerous –”

“It doesn’t affect me like it affects Humans –”

“No, it only set back your healing by two days and stopped you from regenerating when you died in the cabin!” the Doctor called out. “I thought I lost you, Spencer! I thought you had died, for good! That I was alone!”

“Well, boo-hoo! Maybe if you hadn’t killed the _rest of our species_ it wouldn’t have been a problem!”

The Doctor stepped back in shock at his friend’s words. “Spencer, I… I had no choice. I thought you understood that by now.”

“Koschie’s dead,” Spencer said simply. “And so is Kagmar. Even the Chemist, who I never thought I’d grieve, is dead. Lundi’s dead, Doctor,” he said, and the two Time Lords felt each other’s pain, as raw and bare as the day in which it was created. “Lundi’s dead, and I can’t bring her back. So, if it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll do what I can to forget it. At least if something goes wrong, I know I’ll join her.”

With that, he pushed the blanket from over him and stood, wobbling slightly as his feet learned to bear his weight. With a single, long stride, he was in front of the Doctor, reaching out to his pocket and taking back the vials he stole from Tobias’ body.

“Ever so predictable,” he mocked, storming out of the room and towards the Console Room.

“Spencer!” the Doctor called out after him once he recovered from his shock, reaching his friend just as the younger Time Lord open the TARDIS door to reveal a back alley of a street in Vegas, a couple of days after the Tobias Hankel mess was over. “Spencer, wait!”

“Leave me alone, Doctor,” Spencer said, walking out without sparing him a glance. “Just… just leave me alone.”

The sound of the door slamming shut brought Amy and Rory into the room, the two of them sharing a grimace.

“I guess that this conversation didn’t go as planned?” Rory asked.

“I don’t know what to do,” the Doctor admitted. “He… he’s killing himself, and I…”

“There’s nothing you can do,” Amy told him softly. “We know he’ll get through it, on his own. It’s just a matter of time.”

“Does he have time?” the Doctor asked. “His judgement is flawed at the moment, his emotions bared. He lost everything he ever cared for – he lost the one person he would give the whole universe to – and I’m the one to blame.”

“But he doesn’t blame you,” Rory said. “At least, he doesn’t when he’s not going through withdrawal.” The Doctor nodded and Rory took it as a sign it was safe to approach the next unpleasant topic on hand. “Doctor, about the files we deleted from the computer… you said you’d explain.”

“Now isn’t really the best time,” the Doctor said.

“There isn’t such a thing as the best time when it comes to things like this.”

“Doctor,” Amy cut in. “We… we knew that name, both of us did, and you said you’ll explain. What does _he_ have to do with Spencer?”

“Everything,” the Doctor sighed. “He always had everything to do with Spencer. Since before Spencer was even ‘Spencer’ – since before he was the Professor.”

“But why would he send that message to Hankel?” Amy pressed on. “Why would he make Spencer a target like this – telling Hankel just what to do to affect Spencer in ways that wouldn’t work on humans?”

“Because the more broken Spencer is, the easier it would be for _him_ to stir him to do his will,” the Doctor replied, sighing heavily. “You need to remember that through everything and despite it all, Harold Saxon was always – and will always be – a mad politician.”


End file.
